Book review: Saving Babe Ruth’ examines the unseemly side of youth baseball

Tuesday

Jul 1, 2014 at 11:24 AMJul 1, 2014 at 11:24 AM

By Dennis AndersonMore Content Now

A generation ago youth sports was just about that, the youth.At practice, often the only adults at the ballpark, gridiron, ice rink or gymnasium were the coaches. On game days, players would ride their bike alone to the event. When the game was over, players rode home, again, alone, and mom and dad would ask how the game went.What happened to that generation of young players when they became parents and their children got involved in sports?They became controlling, overbearing, coach-baiting ogres of youth leagues and travel teams, with singular visions of their child making the pros, or at least getting a college scholarship.That’s the world Tom Swyers has created in his novel “Saving Babe Ruth” (342 pages, Hillcrest House Publishing, $16.95), which is based on a true story.Swyers’ protagonist is David Thompson, a 50-year-old attorney living in upstate New York with his wife and teen-age son. His life is good, except for Thompson’s baseball problem.He is commissioner of the local Babe Ruth league and the town’s travel team in recent years has been pilfering the league’s best players. Because of this, the Babe Ruth league is on the verge of losing its five-decade-old charter. The for-profit travel team run by Rob Barkus not only wants the Babe Ruth league stars, it also desires the league’s city-owned and pristine baseball diamond. Here is where Thompson draws the line.“Saving Babe Ruth” is more than a story about a small-town struggle over control of a field and the politics of today’s youth sports. It’s also a mystery that takes on the characteristics of the Civil War battle of Gettysburg, of which Thompson is an expert.For those who live in the world of youth sports, many of the characters will be familiar, bordering on cliche. But each plays a role to move this fast-paced story along. And some of the scenarios, especially a climactic encounter over who gets to use the Babe Ruth league field, may be far-fetched.Little of the action in “Surviving Babe Ruth” happens on the diamond, and with most baseball fiction that’s a good thing because this book is driven by Thompson.Now if only some youth sports zealots would read “Saving Babe Ruth” the world would be a better place.